


The Mermaid of Seijoh Shore

by Lady_Iwaizumi



Series: Iwaoi Stories [5]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Beaches, Bisexual Male Character, Blood and Injury, Developing Relationship, Falling In Love, First Love, Fisherman!Iwaizumi, Flirting, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Gift Exchange, Happy little fic, M/M, Marmay, May of Mermaids, Mermaid!Oikawa, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Ocean, Oneshot, Pining, Rescue, Romantic setting, Swimming, Tragic Romance, but its happy, iwachan is falling in luuuuv, mermaid, oikawa is a pretty mermaid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-14
Updated: 2017-11-14
Packaged: 2019-02-02 00:33:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12716115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Iwaizumi/pseuds/Lady_Iwaizumi
Summary: “Mervert."“Stop calling me that!” Oikawa wailed. “I’m not a mermaid pervert!”The young man’s heart tells a fonder story of how a simple fisherman like Iwaizumi Hajime found himself caught in an ocean trap of his own design.Mermay fic!





	The Mermaid of Seijoh Shore

**Author's Note:**

> Me: I should really start my long prostitute fic  
> Me: writes four new oneshot ideas  
> Me: hates/loves myself
> 
> Enjoy! Kudos and everything in between welcome. Also, thanks for so many views on The Grand King's Little Prince!

One late Sunday evening, Iwaizumi was strolling down the rocky path leading to the ocean’s East shoreside, one hand shoved into a pocket of his tan, rolled-up work pants, the other gently wrapped around a loaf of milkbread, fresh from the bakery on the hillside.

If you asked him who the bread was for, he wouldn’t be specific; he might say a friend, or even go so far to say a close friend, but he wouldn’t tell you that the sweet substance was actually for a perky _merman_.

 _Mermaid?_ Iwaizumi corrected silently, shrugging to himself. _He addressed himself as a mermaid, but he’s not known for his correct assumptions. He might be a girl. I don’t know…maybe I’m just trying to pretend I haven’t been in lo—in…such close relations with both a female AND a man…_

 

_Whatever._

 

Hajime shook himself from his daydreams and glanced around, appreciating the lowering sun, the pinkness of the clouds, the on-coming salty breeze drifting through the forest trees towards him as he began stepping over large mossy rocks and tree stumps. He chose to become a fisherman and live by the sea for many reasons; the sound of the waves, both crashing and fluttering against the rocks, the never-ending breeze that cooled his anger and nerves with one gust, the sweet salty scent of beautiful clear-blue water…it was a peaceful life, no matter what stressful situation Iwaizumi found himself in. The scene of the rocks, the abyss in front of him, where the sun met the sky, the water, and everything in between—

There were a million reasons to love the sea.

He never expected enjoying the company of an attractive mermaid to become one of those reasons.

 

Iwaizumi brushed aside the last of the leaves, and found himself facing a small hidden cove, sitting in between two sharp ridges of exposed black stone, where the remainder of the island cut-off abruptly, leaving room for the sea behind their pillars. This was where Hajime had been meeting the mermaid for the past four-months, never missing a single day, a single opportunity to speak with this strange mystical creature; right under the large jutting-out rock on the left pillar of stone (where the fisherman would sit) was Oikawa Tooru, mermaid of Seijoh Shore, just as promised.

The poor fisherman could never gather enough breath in his lungs to prepare for the moment when the mermaid turned, each and every day, to look at him with those hopeful, gleaming chocolate brown eyes he was slowly falling madly in love with.

 

“Yoohoo, Iwa-chan!”

 

“Evening, Oikawa.”

 

Iwaizumi tried not to show how happy he was to see the merman as he carefully maneuvered his way on the edge of the ridge, hoping he wouldn’t fall into the small pond below and ruin Tooru’s bread before he got it to him; their meeting place was very hidden, but also very open, allowing the pair to peer past each other and admire the falling sun, which always signaled the end of their conversation, though Oikawa frequently mentioned (much too often for Iwaizumi’s liking) that he stay after and go “skinny dipping.”

Oikawa Tooru, mermaid or merman, was a shockingly lovely creature.

He wasn’t just beautiful; beautiful would be an _insult_ to the mermaid. He was totally indescribable, and Hajime was glad for the fact—his mind wouldn’t get confused that way. Oikawa was Oikawa to him, but the name had more meaning than he would ever want to admit.

This particular mermaid fell nothing short of myths, with a shimmering light aqua colored tail, equipped with two long fins at the end for swimming, the damp scales sparkling with all the colors of the rainbow when the sun hit them at just the right angle—but his tail wasn’t just that normal. It was longer than what the imagination provided, and if Oikawa were human, Iwaizumi guessed he would be taller than him by a good three-inches—not that he ever pointed this out. The mermaid teased him enough.

Aside from Tooru’s majestic tail, his milky white skin glittered underneath the rays of the sun that never seemed to be strong enough to penetrate the aura around him; his abdominal muscles weren’t chiseled, but molded, long and toned, each arch perfect in its own way, waist slim, but leading to his sharply carved and wider shoulders. Iwaizumi frequently found himself strangely distracted by his _nipples,_ even, though it was a bit awkward sitting with someone whose upper torso was naked 100% of the time…he was left with only one feature to look at, but that final option was just as captivating as the rest.

Oikawa’s hair, even when wet or damp, was always _perfectly_ styled, _perfectly_ flipped, perfect _everything_. It was annoying and attractive at the same time. The locks were the same deep color as his eyes, and Iwaizumi found out the mop of hair was incredibly soft on accident, when Tooru was adjusting on the rock below, causing the top of his head to brush over the fisherman’s rough hand. Safe to say, Hajime really wanted to feel it again, if only so in a smack to the back of the merman’s skull. There was a dangling earring on his right ear made of seashells and some kind of ocean-made chain, hooked on the shell of his ear and the actual area where earrings normally were; Tooru had a natural sparkle to his face, as a mermaid, but that wasn’t the only factor that made him so alluring—his jaw was nicely rounded, not too wide, not to narrow, and his pout was infuriating, but from a certain angle, cute. The merman had a nicely shaped nose, arrogant eyebrows, a few other pretty things Iwaizumi would never be specific about, with the exception of the other’s pride, which was a strong factor in his personality, as the fisherman had found out quickly.

 

He _would_ admit that the myths about mermaids were true—they were, in fact, sweet children of the mysterious deep blue sea.

 

“How was the rest of your day, Iwa-chan?” Tooru asked, chin in his hand as he smiled up at the fisherman from his rock under the larger ridge, where his tail was still hidden under the water.

“Well considering it started with you popping up from the water while I was reaching for a fishing net, not good.”

“I said I was sorry!”

“Mervert.”

“Stop calling me that!” Oikawa wailed. “I’m not a mermaid pervert!”

Hajime snorted, taking his place on the ridge and letting his legs dangle inches away from the surface of the water; the mermaid noticed the hidden object in his hand, pointing it out immediately.

“What’s that?”

“Oh…it’s um…milkbread.”

“Milkbread.” Tooru repeated, trying to hide the want in his shining eyes. “Oh…did you not have dinner before you came again?”

“It’s for you, dumbass.”

The mermaid paused for a second, examining Iwaizumi’s grumpy, but softening facial expression, wondering if he was playing another trick on him.

“…Really?”

“Really. I know you like it, so here—”

Hajime took one of Oikawa’s soft palms and placed the loaf into it.

“Eat.”

 

Tooru slowly rose his other hand up, carefully taking away the cloth covering the bread so he could marvel at its soft crust; Iwaizumi’s expression relaxed at the sight, and he found himself almost smiling, eyebrows less slanted than usual. Oikawa looked back up, eyes wide with gratitude that was quickly covered-up with that sparkling playfulness Hajime both hated and liked.

 

“Thanks, Iwa-chan! You’re the best!”

“No problem.”

Oikawa dug into the bread and happily filled his mouth with little pieces of the gooey substance, content to have silence between them for a few peaceful minutes; the fisherman remembered when he had first introduced the merman to milkbread, when he brought a piece for lunch and Tooru snatched it from him as a prank, only to become obsessed with the human food that turned into him begging Iwaizumi to bring him some once in a while, because it was now his favorite food, but he could only eat it when he was “having fun with Iwa-chan.” The pair were quiet for longer than Hajime expected, causing him to stop watching Tooru chew and glance up at his facial expression, finding it thoughtful, and maybe even a bit... _sheepish_?

“So what’s up?” Iwaizumi asked. “What’d the ocean’s greatest mervert do today?”

Oikawa narrowed his eyes, but his annoyance was gone in an instant, replaced by twiddling of the thumbs as he rolled a bread piece between his fingers.

“I…finished a project I’ve been working on for a few weeks.” The mermaid answered slowly.

“What kind of project?”

“Um…it’s…a present. For you.”

“Huh?” Hajime said stupidly.

Tooru looked up from his rock, eyes hiding his anxiety, carefully watching Iwaizumi’s reaction, as if he thought the fisherman would kick him back under the water for getting him a gift.

“Well, um…I wanted to make you something, you know, just because, and since you brought me a present today, I should probably give you yours.”

“It wasn’t a present,” Hajime replied, feeling heat rush to his cheeks. “I just know you like milkbread, so I brought you some.”

“I’ll go get yours!” Oikawa exclaimed happily, setting the loaf down on the rock. “Wait right here, Iwa-chan!”

 

Tooru the mermaid plunged himself into the water before Iwaizumi could protest, leaving him slightly wet and eternally curious about what Oikawa could possibly bring him from the deepest depths of the ocean that would be considered a gift. A seashell? A golden seashell? A _rock_? Hajime knew Tooru’s home was pretty far from the East shore, so he figured he would be sitting there a while and nibbled on milkbread while trying to guess what the mermaid could be bringing him.

_He said he’s been making it for the past couple weeks…so…it could be a tool? An outfit, maybe? I don’t really know anything about merpeople gifts…maybe it’s coral or something. Maybe it’s magical! That would be cool…I just hope it’s not a bucket of shrimp, because I hate shrimp._

_…What am I supposed to do if it’s really incredible?_

After only seven-minutes of waiting, Iwaizumi heard that familiar wooshing noise coming from underneath the water, signaling that Oikawa was swimming rapidly towards their rock; he must have really been booking it to get back that quickly. The fisherman sat up straighter as the merman became visible underneath the clear blue water, slowing his speed as he approached the meeting rock—seconds later, Iwaizumi saw a sight he only witnessed once before, since Tooru was usually already on land before he arrived.

 

Oikawa emerged from the water, long slender fingers reaching out to lightly grasp the rock as he pulled himself up, upper torso still tense with the stress of swimming; the ocean water dribbled over his body, making him sparkle more than usual, his chocolate hair now matted down with wetness, sticking up right in front from the powerful force of water trying to bring him back underneath the waves. Time seemed to freeze as Iwaizumi’s eyes locked onto this jaw-dropping form in front of him. Tooru’s eyes were closed lightly, adjusting to the bright light above the tide, and his mouth opened in a provocative and seductive way, taking a big breath of air to get his lungs used to breathing like a human again; the little water drops slid off his pink lips, splashing back onto the surface silently, the others oozing down his neck and shoulders as the mermaid propped himself up on the rock so that he was sitting on his backside like a human, causing him to dip closer to an enchanted Iwaizumi. Oikawa’s cheeks were flushed from swimming so fast, and his body was still tensed and rippling even as he relaxed onto the rock, maybe from how nervous he was over giving the fisherman a homemade present.

Little did he know, Hajime hadn’t taken his eyes off the transfixing sight before him since the merman arose from the ocean.

“Here we go,” Tooru said in a relatively hushed tone, looking down at whatever was hidden between his palms, oblivious to Iwaizumi’s eye-bulging stare. “I just finished this morning.”

Before the fisherman was able to stop himself, he blurted out—

“Was that not my present?”

Oikawa had to look up in surprise at that, too worried over the gift to realize what Hajime’s words implied; he shrugged it off, collecting his words as the other spectator tried to get a grip on reality, shaking his head to clear away the alluring image he wasn’t ready to witness.

 

Was he _ever_ ready to witness Tooru, the mermaid of Seijoh Shore?

 

When Oikawa’s hands moved, Iwaizumi finally glanced down, watching his gift be revealed—the merman began explaining right away, holding his palms up to show the fisherman the beautiful necklace he had made.

“It’s a necklace,” Tooru said, voice strained. “I um…I started making it a few weeks ago, but I only got done this morning, because I couldn’t find all of the items I wanted. It’s…it’s for you. A thank-you gift, you could say, for being friends with me.”

Hajime leaned down further from his rock, eyes flickering over the pretty objects on the leather rope tied in a loose knot at the end; there was a white pearl on the left side, perfectly preserved from the inside of a seashell for many many years. Next to it was a light teal angulate wentletrap seashell, smoothed out completely, with no rifts or specks of dirt clumping on the ridges—on the right side was another pearl, this time accompanied by a little pink starfish that was also smoother than Iwaizumi ever remembered regular starfish being, and…

“What’s in the middle?” He asked, voice wavering.

“Oh,” Tooru blushed deeper, running a thumb over the middle piece of the necklace. “Well, you said before how you like watching the turtles swim underneath the water by the shores, so I found some glass scraps and made a turtle out of the pieces. That’s what took me so long…”

Iwaizumi didn’t say a word. Oikawa wasn’t sure what to make of this, but his mind told him it was a good sign to continue.

“C-Can…Can I tie it around your neck, Iwa-chan?”

 

The fisherman nodded blankly, lowering his posture so the mermaid could reach.

 

Tooru’s wet fingertips brushed against the back of Iwaizumi’s neck, sending a shiver down his spine as the leather was tied securely around his muscular neck, ensuring it wouldn’t fall off; Oikawa leaned back down to admire the image while Hajime looked down and gently touched the necklace’s main piece, wondering how the hell Tooru had managed to craft such a beautiful object from shards of broken glass underneath the ocean.

When the mermaid dared to make eye-contact again, he found his admirer’s dark brown eyes already staring back. Neither of them said a word. Iwaizumi found himself drifting back to when he first met the merman all those months ago, when he was trying to hunt down illegal traps on the East and West shores of Seijoh.

 

When the fisherman was weaving in and out of the coves and hidden caves, he stumbled across a sight he would never forget as long as he lived: in the very cove they were sitting in now, Iwaizumi found a bloody mermaid, tangled up in a sharp-wired net, body limp and utterly exhausted from having been attempting to escape from the trap over the course of several hours. Hajime wasted five-minutes wondering if he was hallucinating before rushing over to the poor creature to help; upon getting closer, he realized the mermaid was, in fact, a mer _man_ , and that he was almost out of the net—apparently his exhaustion got the better of him and he was not able to conjure up enough energy to finish the job. The wiring had torn-up his skin from the constant thrashing, pieces of broken skin hanging by a centimeter, other areas being rubbed raw and prickled with blood stains from where the pokey edges were relentlessly trapping him in a world of terrible pain. Iwaizumi was horrified to see that the merman’s tail was in no better shape, bloody and torn apart at the edges, with many scales having been caught on the crude wiring and torn right off; thankfully, they grew back, but at the time, Hajime didn’t know that, and frantically set-out to help.

Despite believing the creature had collapsed from exhaustion, his eyes shot open upon hearing heavy footsteps come bounding down the rocks towards the water—chocolate brown met dark brown, and the mermaid panicked at the sight, and began jerking around in fear, desperate to squirm his way out of the net to escape back into the ocean water. Up close, Iwaizumi could tell the mythical creature was more than just injured; he looked ill, sickly, and Hajime understood once he noticed how dry the scales on the mermaid’s tails were. He had probably drug himself over to the sharp rocks in hopes of getting it caught and ripping the net wide open, but the fisherman knew this type of trap wouldn’t be so easily escaped from. The area the merman thrashed to was barely enough water to be waded in, so only his head would be able to submerge completely underneath the water, which was helpful, but only barely.

Iwaizumi’s first action was to try and calm the mermaid down, lest he injure himself even further.

“It’s okay!” Hajime hushed in a gentle tone, swopping down to kneel on a rock. “I can help you—do you understand? I’m here to help you!”

Reaching down to the poor young man only caused his eyes to become even more panicked, his jerking and squirming faster and more desperate; only when Iwaizumi laid a soft touch on the merman’s forehead did he freeze, ceasing all movement, his heavy, totally _exhausted_ breaths the only thing audible between them.

 

For a long moment, the two strangers stared at each other, both attempting to figure out what the other was thinking; Oikawa’s heart had never beat so fast, and Iwaizumi himself had never found a man so attractive before. Only the sight of a deeper cut on the mermaid’s shoulder bleeding brought him back to reality.

 

The fisherman plopped into the water and found the small opening that led to the bigger one, which had gotten smaller because of the merman’s tail catching on it, probably, and set to work on un-tangling the creature; all the while, the little brushes against Tooru’s skin made him tremble in fear, the oddness of the human touch startling him to his very core. A human had set this trap, so what made this human any different? Oikawa wasn’t sure, but when he finally understood that the fisherman was getting his own hands bloody on the sharp wiring just to help free him, he calmed down a little bit, and forced himself to remain still enough where Iwaizumi was finally able to slide the netting up over the mermaid’s head.

Tooru wasted no time, and scrambled back into the deeper water.

“Wait!” Hajime called. “You’re still hurt!”

His yelling wasn’t really necessary, because it became painfully clear that the merman wasn’t going anywhere soon; he barely got fully emerged under the deeper ocean water before fatigue overwhelmed his muscles again, making his head sink under unwillingly, his mouth sputtering as he accidently swallowed a gulp of sea water.

“Stop!”

Iwaizumi took a few steps through the water towards the mermaid, but not wanting to scare him off, stopped before reaching where he was lying; there were a few moments of fear and stillness between them, ended by Tooru’s tired brown eyes fluttering open. He watched the fisherman in a daze, holding onto a rock with one shaking arm, letting his head rest on the hard surface as the pair watched each other silently, the only noise being the mermaid’s soft huffs of breath, and the drips of the small waves plopping against the shore.

 

When Oikawa’s eyes locked with his, they pleaded for help.

 

Hajime gave it willingly, and carefully approached the mermaid.

 

The rest of that night was spent protecting Tooru from other wanderers of Seijoh Shore, cleaning his wounds with fresh water and learning how the merman only got caught in the net because a baby manatee was trapped in it first, and the only way to free the poor thing was to squirm inside and create an opening big enough for it to swim out. That was over four-months ago.

Iwaizumi thought of this as he stared at Oikawa now, wondering how he could ever regret saving the mermaid from becoming a piece of cruel entertainment.

“Iwa-chan?”

“…Hm?”

“Is it okay?”

Hajime finally blinked.

“Is what okay?”

“The gift,” Tooru said, looking between the fisherman and his own hands as he nervously contemplated his decision. “Is it okay?”

The fisherman pleasantly shocked the mermaid by leaning down and planting a sweet little kiss on his wet cheek for a long second, making him stare at the other in awe and softly bring a finger up to touch where his lips had been; Iwaizumi was smiling down at him mildly, though it meant the entire world to Oikawa.

“It’s beautiful. Thank you for making it for me.”

“Y-Yeah, no problem!”

Fumbling over his secret joy and hidden beaming grin, Tooru struck up a casual conversation, for once, trying to get the attention off himself. This human was the only person capable of bringing that reaction from the flaunting merman.

“Milkbread?” He offered Iwaizumi, shoving another piece into his mouth. “Ah loph mlkbrehd a _laht_!”

“I can tell. On land it’s considered rude to talk with your mouth full.” Hajime commented while taking a piece from the loaf.

“Like _you_ have table manners, Iwa-chan.”

 

The mermaid and fisherman talked through the sunset, not realizing how many hours had passed with mindless, but sweet conversation until the pink sun finally began to cease, darkening the area around their little hidden cove on the East side of Seijoh Shore. Tonight, Oikawa didn’t suggest that Hajime stay and skinny-dip, and didn’t whine until he was given the last bit of milkbread—he became quiet as they glanced around the water, watching as its color became darker and darker until nothing could be seen under it, not even Tooru’s glimmering tail.

Like every day, this signaled the end of their evening together.

Oikawa turned back to the fisherman, his chin laying on his folded arms as he peered up with a strange peacefulness inside his chocolate brown orbs, the last of the sunset colors shimmering off their gleam. Iwaizumi could stare at him forever.

“Well,” Hajime exhaled deeply, but without stress as he snatched up the empty towel that held the milkbread. “I suppose I should be heading home.”

“Right, right…”

“Have a nice night, Tooru.”

“You too, Iwa-chan.”

 

Before Iwaizumi could stand from the rock, the mermaid stopped him by lightly sliding his slender fingers around the fisherman’s forearm; Hajime looked down to meet his hopeful expression.

 

“Will you come back tomorrow?” Tooru asked softly.

 

Iwaizumi took one long last look at the merman, trying to ignore the fluttering in his heart as he admired the swinging earring, the shine of Oikawa’s lips, the fluffiness of his soft hair, the darkness of his pretty eyelashes, the smooth, gradual turns of his upper body…

 

“Of course.” He answered quietly. “I always come back, don’t I?”

 

Tooru’s smile was nothing short of breathtaking, and he released Hajime’s arm gently, then began swimming backwards, towards the exit of the cove.

“Bye bye, Iwa-chan! See you tomorrow, and thanks for the milkbread!”

“Bye…thanks for the necklace.”

After giving one last wink and a peace sign, Oikawa dove underneath the water, leaving Iwaizumi standing alone on the rock, watching as the mermaid fluttered miles away, back to his home under the sea. He watched with fondness, even though he couldn’t see Tooru anymore, and gave another sigh as his fingers found their way to the beautiful necklace now tied around his neck; _what a life I lead_ , the fisherman thought, lips curling into a soft smile as the moon rose completely above the sea. _I’m in love with a cheeky mermaid who loves milkbread._

 

Movement from right underneath the full glowing moon caught his eye, and Iwaizumi saw Oikawa waving at him wildly from hundreds of yards away, his smile so bright the fisherman could see it from where he stood.

 

Hajime waved back, and fell asleep in a cove on the East side of Seijoh Shore, dreaming of sea turtles, shiny pearl necklaces, and a beautiful mermaid named Tooru, who he was absolutely and undoubtedly in love with.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Long live
> 
> IWAOIIIIII OYAOYA  
> (To clear things up, Iwaizumi once dated a human girl, hence the Bisexual tag)


End file.
